Dear Luke is a series of letters to my son with suggestions to help him find more peace and joy on his own personal journey in life, and ideas to help him discover and reach his full potential. www.dearluke.com Warmest Regards, James Durham

Dear Luke 16 - The Spiral of AwarenessIn this sixteenth letter of Dear Luke, I am thrilled to finally share how
all of the The Ten Suggestions (or The 10 Core Suggestions for a Personal
Value System) fit together with what I have been calling The Spiral of
Awareness, which is a central idea in Dear Luke that shows the progression
of how awareness begins with the Authentic Self and expands via The Ten
Suggestions. This letter includes a diagram of The Spiral of Awareness,
which I invite you to look at as you listen. Please click here if you would
like to view the diagram. Check back each week as I post new letters. And
if you enjoy Dear Luke, please feel free to share it!

Dear Luke 15 - Suggestion #10: Activate HumanityIn this fifteenth letter of Dear Luke, I share Suggestion #10 of what I
lovingly call, The Ten Suggestions, or The 10 Core Suggestions for a
Personal Value System. I am so excited and happy to make it to the tenth
suggestion, Activate Humanity, as I wrap up the spiral of awareness. In
this letter I share a little about one of my personal heroes, an unsung
hero, and how she has taught me about what activating humanity means. This
idea sounds big, but is really much more down to earth and can be practiced
by anyone. This suggestion is about seeking for the highest aspiration of a
combined human family, reaching higher, stretching further, activating each
individual you can, to elevate the whole human family, one person at a
time. Check back each week as I post new letters. And if you enjoy Dear
Luke, please feel free to share it!

Dear Luke 14 - Suggestion #9: Protect Life and Tend Your EnvironmentIn this fourteenth letter of Dear Luke, I share Suggestion #9 of what I
lovingly call, The Ten Suggestions, or The 10 Core Suggestions for a
Personal Value System. This ninth suggestion, Protect Life and Tend Your
Environment, begins the next part of the spiral of awareness, which I like
to call the spiral of elevation. In this letter I share how we can move
outside ourselves, think beyond others around us, and expand our awareness
to include a larger perspective. I share some ideas about how we can find
balance between science and emotion, and become caretakers of this world,
much like we can be caretakers of ourselves. Check back each week as I post
new letters. And if you enjoy Dear Luke, please feel free to share it!

Dear Luke 13 - Suggestion #8: Lift OthersIn this thirteenth letter of Dear Luke, I share Suggestion #8 of what I
lovingly call, The Ten Suggestions, or The 10 Core Suggestions for a
Personal Value System. This eighth suggestion, Lift Others, wraps up this
part of the spiral of awareness, the spiral of others. In this letter I
share a beautiful life lesson I learned from my violin teacher, and explain
how he helped lift me in my life. I share some initial ideas about how you
can lift others, or expand your sphere of awareness out to include others,
and help them activate and realize their own potential. Check back each
week as I post new letters. And if you enjoy Dear Luke, please feel free to
share it!

Dear Luke 12 - Suggestion #7: Create a Better NowIn this twelfth letter of Dear Luke, I share Suggestion #7 of what I
lovingly call, The Ten Suggestions, or The 10 Core Suggestions for a
Personal Value System. This seventh suggestion, Create a Better Now,
continues forward in the progression of the spiral of awareness. In this
letter I share how you can take the ideas from Suggestion #3, Live Now in
Awareness, and expand them to others, to improve the immediate world and
energy around you, and transform the moment with others in a way that can
resonate with them for many years. Check back each week as I post new
letters. And if you enjoy Dear Luke, please feel free to share it!

Dear Luke 11 - Suggestion #6: Nurture RelationshipsIn this eleventh letter of Dear Luke, I share Suggestion #6 of what I
lovingly call, The Ten Suggestions, or The 10 Core Suggestions for a
Personal Value System. This sixth suggestion, Nurture Relationships,
expands the spiral of awareness to help you connect more deeply with
others. In this letter I share the example of a dear friend and how he
connected with his friends. I also share that when you nurture
relationships, you take interest in people’s lives, care for them, care for
what happens to them, listen to them, give them the space they need to be
who they are, honor and love them. Check back each week as I post new
letters. And if you enjoy Dear Luke, please feel free to share it!

Dear Luke 10 - Suggestion #5: Respect OthersIn this tenth letter of Dear Luke, I share Suggestion #5 of what I lovingly
call, The Ten Suggestions, or The 10 Core Suggestions for a Personal Value
System. This fifth suggestion, Respect Others, begins the second spiral of
awareness, the spiral of others. In this letter I share how we are all
connected, and how each person has fundamental sovereignty over themselves,
and deserves to be treated with respect. Check back each week as I post new
letters. And if you enjoy Dear Luke, please feel free to share it!

Dear Luke 09 - Suggestion #4: Realize Your PotentialIn this ninth letter of Dear Luke, I share Suggestion #4 of what I lovingly
call, The Ten Suggestions, or The 10 Core Suggestions for a Personal Value
System. This fourth suggestion, Realize Your Potential, completes the first
spiral of awareness, the spiral of self. As you move through the spiral of
awareness to this suggestion, you are better prepared, more in tune with
yourself to reach for your best self. Then you can move forward from solid
ground and take flight! Check back each week as I post new letters. And if
you enjoy Dear Luke, please feel free to share it!

Dear Luke 08 - Suggestion #3: Live Now in AwarenessIn this eighth letter of Dear Luke, I share Suggestion #3 of what I
lovingly call, The Ten Suggestions, or The 10 Core Suggestions for a
Personal Value System. This third suggestion, Live Now in Awareness, is a
powerful part of the spiral of awareness. Our time in life is so precious,
and if you choose to be aware of each moment as it happens — the present,
right now — you can get so much more out of life, learn so much more, and
can find and create more beauty in the world around you. Check back each
week as I post new letters. And if you enjoy Dear Luke, please feel free to
share it!

Dear Luke 07 - Suggestion #2: Honor YourselfIn this seventh letter of Dear Luke, I share Suggestion #2 of what I
lovingly call, The Ten Suggestions, or The 10 Core Suggestions for a
Personal Value System. This second suggestion, Honor Yourself, is the next
big step in the spiral of awareness. I also share some of the story leading
up to my own personal realization of how this suggestion can help heal and
strengthen yourself, and expand your awareness, and ultimately how this can
help you connect with others and make the world a better place. Check back
each week as I post new letters. And if you enjoy Dear Luke, please feel
free to share it!

Dear Luke 06 - Suggestion #1: Own YourselfIn this sixth letter of Dear Luke, I share Suggestion #1 of what I lovingly
call, The Ten Suggestions, or The 10 Core Suggestions for a Personal Value
System. This first suggestion, Own Yourself, is the gateway to the spiral
of awareness - the beginning of a personal value system to help gain more
inner peace, confidence, strength and joy in life, while expanding outwards
to others and helping to make the world a better place. Check back each
week as I post new letters. And if you enjoy Dear Luke, please feel free to
share it!

Dear Luke 05 - Introduction to the Ten SuggestionsThe first four letters set the stage, and here, in this fifth letter of
Dear Luke, I introduce what I lovingly call, The Ten Suggestions, and
outline what comes next over the next several months. I am really excited
to share these ideas, which are organized around an ever-increasing state
of awareness, of how one can connect with oneself and expand outwards to
others and help make the world a better place. If you enjoy Dear Luke,
please feel free to share it!

Dear Luke 04 - Falling Short, Rising UpIn this fourth letter of Dear Luke, I explore the idea of that unpleasant
word, failure, how that can hold us back from doing what we feel we need to
do in life, and how to transform that idea into something hopeful: falling
short, but then rising up. Check back each week as I post new letters. And
if you enjoy Dear Luke, please feel free to share it!

Dear Luke 03 - The Paradox of Specialness and UnspecialnessIn this third letter of Dear Luke, I share some ideas about the seeming
paradox of specialness and unspecialness, the wonder of being and self, and
what I believe is the key to the power of our consciousness. Check back
each week as I post new letters. And if you enjoy Dear Luke, please feel
free to share it!

Dear Luke 02 - PerspectiveIn this second letter of Dear Luke, I share some thoughts about the awesome
scale of our beautiful universe and ideas about expanding our perspectives.
Check back each week as I post new letters. And if you enjoy Dear Luke,
please feel free to share it!

Dear Luke 01 - Awareness and ChoiceAnd so Dear Luke begins! In early 2014, I experienced a life-changing
event. This experience inspired me to write this collection of letters to
my son, sharing with him my thoughts about life. In these letters, I share
suggestions and ideas that I hope will help him find more peace and joy,
and also discover and reach his full potential. Read on for more...

Dear Luke 00 - IntroductionWelcome to Dear Luke! This first recording is a short introduction to Dear
Luke. Please check back each week as I post readings of letters. If you
enjoy this podcast, please feel free to share it! Read on for more...